Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Spring 2024

Date of Submission

2024-09-13

Advisor

Dr. Ali Gibran Siddiqui, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Keywords

Partition, Comedy, Play, Postcolonial, Moinuddin

Abstract

This project analyses the play Lal Qila se Lalukhet for its exploration of the intersection of religion, state, and identity in a postcolonial and post-partition world through the lens of humour, with particular emphasis on the identity of Muhajirs – migrants who travelled from an independent Hindustan to Pakistan. Written in 1952 by Khwaja Moinuddin, this play is a political satire that reflects on the state of the Muslims when they were in Hindustan and the creation of their Muhajir identity as they travelled to Pakistan, as well as the state of this newly built country.

Through a close reading of the play’s characters, use of language, and objects and symbolism, this research examines how humour has been used to reflect on, critique, and disrupt the colonial legacy of the British, both onstage and beyond-stage. Along with that, this project analyses the generational and cultural shifts that present themselves in society and community as a result of distance from the colonial era.

Drawing on postcolonial theory, postcolonial comic theory, and affect theory, this work argues that comic devices such as linguistic play, absurdity, exaggeration, and distortion of time and history, all come together to create a space where the trauma of loss can be subverted and turned into the laughter of activism.

Pages

vi, 74

Download

The full text of this document is only accessible to authorized users.

Share

COinS